In the Mystic Footsteps of Saints, VOLUME 1 (Shaykh Nazim, 153 pages, 5/10)
https://www.nvrislam.net/index.php?j=eng&post=6024
erefore, whoever secks a happy life and spiritual muprovement must do as sailors do when a ship is overloaded and in danger of going down in a storm — they throw off the ballast. If
ar Mystic Footsteps
you like you may heed my warnings: be wise and niove step by step towards sunpheity, Don't pursue fashion.
Tf possible one should cat natural foods, as yank food makes people behave like deauks. We are living ta a time in which we ate destroying ourselves with our own hands. We have created an ecouomic system geared toward the principle of “quick prodaction, quick. consumption”, and that is a grave mistake. Since the development of this type of economic system, it has become impossible to fulfill people’s needs naturally, to prow food quickly enough without the aid of artificial fertilizers and insecticides, but by means of these violent methods we are destroying the balance of gature.
The teachings of Islam stress the need to avoid waste. If people were to follow only this teaching the ecological balance would he re established. Everywhere in the world people waste food, anel in America people throw away a week’s worth of food every day. How shall food production keep pace with such waste? By adlizing artificial methods, and these methods m turn breed every kind of illness, economic problems, and psychological problems: all of this is the price of wasting divine favors.
Yesterday | attended a luncheon at which several Tslarnic scholars were present. They left so avich food on their plates! They should not have accepted such lat tge portions if they were not able to eat them, but they did, leaving the surplus to be thrown away. And these are scholars who are well familiar with Islam's teachings about waste, so what should we expect from the common people?
Nowadays, most peoples hearts incline towards a wasteful, artificial lifestyle, and away from a life close to nature; therefore, the world’s problems are on the increase. ] advise any who will pay heed to be friends of nature and not to flee from the countryside to the city. Cites are the plague of the modern world, adversely affecting every aspect of human life ~ and the bigger the catty, the more uninhabitable. Meanw' hile, the countryside stands abandoned, as its inhabitants have been hypnotized by the dazile of city lights.
58 Shaykh Nazim Adil Al Haqqani
Qur physical bodies are part of mature, and a wise person will seek comfort in closeness to nature, not estrangement from it Everything in the countryside is purer, and there are fewer dnesses and a generally healthter life. Therefore, ] advocate the distribution oF the population which is presently chistered in the great cities, throughout the countryside in small communities based on agriculture and decentralized manufacturing. People may work half the day in the fielels and half the day in workshops or factories, and ther ives would be excellent. Lf people would lve in such a manner they would be healthier and happier.
These huge housing projects which resemble ocean liners are a horror. The government could use the same resources to build a village in the countryside, so thar the inhabitants could maimtain their human dignity and experience freedom in their surrouncings. [fit were up to me ] would destroy these housing projects, as they are places in which all lutnatity is taken from humans: jungles, horrible places, centers of criminality. The devil’s plan for mankind is to have us jailed in such monstrous buildings, whereas Allah encourages ug to use our facultics of reasoning, when He asks: “Ts not My earth wide enough that you may migrate thereupon?”
59 Mystic Footsteps
ay Steady Growth is a Sign of Vitality
How tiany years have we been coming to London regularly to be with your For the last thirteen or fourteen years we have been coming here. Tell me, have we called you to anything but the Truth? [If we were calling people to ourselves or to some sensations for their egos, many people might come ~ even more perhaps than now come — but they would not be consistent or perseverant: there would be a hich nirnover. But no, the same people who joined us then, neclve or fourteen years ago are stil with us, and more are coming all the time. They too are staying with us. The ability of a shaykh to help his followers attain stabiliry and a permanent war is a sign Of a teue followers of the holy Prophet.
There is an episode mt the fe of the Prophet that Mustrates this point. Lt is important that we study history, as it sharpens our minds and opens the door to insight and wisdom. Therefore, 1 am advising our friends to study history, even more than religious sciences, to read the history of nations, the history of preophethood and rehgion, the history of the Prophet’ s Ife and early Islamic history, to know also w hat was happening in the world at the tune of the adv ent of Islam.
Now Twill relate to you an episode from early Ishunic history that should be useful for us.
The Prophet Muhammad had sent a letter to Meraclius, the Byzantine Emperor, inviting him to Islam, Once, when visiting Damascus (a pact of his cealm), the emperor instructed his men to bring him any Meccans who might come t0 Damascus by caravan during his stay, in order to question them about Muhammad, as he
60 Shaykh Nazim Adil Al Haqqani
was interested in kn owing more about hina and what people had to say about him.
In due course, the regular summer caravan from Mecca artived, and its leaders weee brought to the presence of his Royal Fighness, the emperor. Herachus was sitting majestically on his throne with a grave expression on his face. To one side were arraved his generals and to the other bishops and patriarchs. Fle addressed the Meccans through a translater, saying: “I have received a letter from a man im Mecca who claims that he is a prophet, Who of you is his closest blood relativer” Abu Sufyan stepped forward, saying, “I am his relative.” At this time Abu Sufyan. was not yet Muslin, and what’s more he was the leader of those who were fiehting agaist the Prophet and had forced him to emigrate from his native city to Medina. In other words, be was the leader of those at war with the holy Prophet.
Then the emperor said: “fam going to ask you some questions about that person, and I expect you to provide me with honest, correct answers, as 1 want to gain a true picture of this man and ” "The emperor addressed the other leaders of the caravan: “And as for you, E would ask you to speak out tf your companion gives an imcorrect answer and to correct him, for God is Perfect and Correct, and ts pleased by those who set things straight.”
what he is all about.
Later tn his lite, whens Abu Sufyan bad become a Muslim, he declared: “I was trembling in front of the emperor, but still I would have told him so many lies to make Muhammad look bad. But he had exhorted my companions to cerrect me, that one of them might spcak up if T Hed, and te be exposed as a liar in front of the emperor would have been too shameful for me. Therefore, | was very careful to answer all of his questions correctly.”
Fleraclius asked Abu Sufyan many questions that ate recorded in history books: “Is his following growing steadily? When people come to him do they stay with him or do many go away disenchanted (even though they may be replaced by others)?” Abu Sufyan answered: “Everyone whe comes to im stays with him and
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holds to hit rove Girrly day by day. Their wumbers are constansly increasing as the old ones stay and new ones join him.”
The emperor exclaimed. “He must be a truce prophet, for these vee the signs of touth When seckers of Truth find it, they never leave it, Verily he has been seat with Pruth, ard his order wall grow to perfection. Without a doubt his nation will come and conquer the very ground on which | stand. | wish that I were worthy to scive at his feet.”
Then Abu Sufyan said: “Those words of the emperor had an effect on my heart, and from that time my mnermost feelings toward the Prophet began to change.” We soust consider this point if the holy Prophet hac not brought a trie message, could his order have grown as it did unl it extended from the Ttar East to the Far West? Can a rotten seed grow? In the time of the Prophet other people arose claiming to be prophets, but can we now sce any remnant of their following? But the tree of Islam is always spreading new branches out over the world — that is a sign Of its vitality.
of Shaykh Nazim Adil Al Haqqani
2 Golden Coin and Golden Rule: Both Have Turned Into Paper
When Allah Almughty created Adam, He caused a rau: of trouble to sprinkle on him for forty years, then Me caused a rain of ecstasy to shower upon. him for one year. Therefore, man may find such a proportion of suffering to pleasure throughout his fe. How does our Lord cause trouble to manifest rouge the course of our lives? ‘Through our contact with other people. We are destined to constantly have to deal weth others, most of whom are mainly interested in fulfilling their own desires without much regard for anyone else’s well bemnp.
Tt is our fate to be given a nature that requires social contact with our fellow humans. And even if cach persom were to bave a mountain to himself, in order to remain far removed from the bother and trouble caused by social life, we would find people abandoning their retreats and seching each other’s company in the valleys.
Why is te that people, though deawn to cach other, often would like to flee froma lurnan associatiou? Pach person has his own will and his idea of how things should be done, and itis most difficult to obtain another’s compliance with those wishes, to influence him into doing what you want done. [tf you can come to exercise authority over a small circle of people, the nuciear family for example, 5 your influence decreases immediately when we pass to the next citcle of relations, the extended family. And so on down the ine: the farther people are removed from your direct influence, the more difficult to assert one’s authority or advocate one’s position —
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and owe weak link in the chain will cause the complete rupture of that chain of influence. Therefore, your ab#ity to make others conform to your wishes is limited, and this is a cause of g great frustration for people,
When Adam and Eve were alone they were able to agree that Adam would have ultimate authority in matters, and when they had children they deferred to his authority, but when the world started to be populated by his grandchildren anc great grandchildren, his authority waned and they became rebellious. By the ume he died he had realized how powerless he was.
Everything that happens to mankind tn general, every current that passes through us affects our personalities. Some of these currents build in us inner force and rectinide, others cause these qualities to vanish. It is our challenge to face them all and to strengthen our personalities i any case; you miust be fim enough to face every event, the good and the bad aléke. You may seck to escape from disliked circunastances, but usually, in the process of flecing you will come up agamst something even more formidable. We have a saying: “He led fram the tain to the hail.” You may affiem the truth of this saying from your own experience. But what can we dor We can only learn forbearance: to increase in spiritual fortitude through being patient with the harm inflicted by others. If we react to every evil we will be burned up with rage, and will have gained nothing. What we need to be able to attack evil is, frst of all, a “cool head” not clouded by inypulsive rage. This is what all prophets through all epochs have taught.
The great source of suffering in the oventieth century is impatience. Especially in the West patience has become a vittually extinct characteristic, and, contrary to being encouraged by society, even in theory, it is scarned and seen as being the attribute of stupid and exploited people. People in the “free world” are taught
that they must demand, and have the right to demand, everything ammediarely, and ideally, for it to appear in front of them before they ever thought of desiring it — that is efficiency. To call such a society “twentieth century civilization” is a misnomer, for civilized
04 Shaykh Nazim Adil Al Haqqani
people are patient, and real civilization ties to mstill patience. by estecining it ag a virtue,
Because this quality is lacking, the higher people’s standard of living climbs, the more they come to expect everything to be instantly available to them at the touch of a button or fick of a switch, and whea anything God forbid should go wrong, they are infuriated by the delay of what they expect to be mstantly provided. leis terrible to even think about the condition people would be in if their systems were to fail on a larger scale: they haven't the slightest idea of how to provide themselves with what they need tor theit ives. If their machines cease to function they will die — that is all.
An even upler aspect of this trend is that people are not satished just tO have everything available at their fingertips, but want to have everything for themselves to the exclusion of others, to have a monopoly of all wealth and pleasure. With such characteristics how shall anyone be happy } Modern education and the valucs passed through the media give the signal: “Gro out and get what you want; if you can grab it, if is yours, that is only fair.” What we need to understand is that each has his portion, that what is your is yours and what is his is his. How many of your possessions can you carry on your back? Even a money helt is bothersome: so how shall you carry someone else’s portion? If you attempt to eat even one other person’s portion you will be sick, and if you wear another’s clothing in addition to your own you will be too hot. To begrudge people their portions ts excessively stupid, the way to destroy your health and your soul.
We are in need of a different kind of education, an education that teaches us that everything in this life has been apportioned to its owner through divine wisdom, but instead we are encouraging such bad attributes that every good others enjoy is a thorn in our sides.
Onee, in the ame of Moses, peace. be upon him, as he was headed toward Mount Sinai to engage in private discourse with the Lord Almighty, a poor man approached Moses and said: “Oh
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Moses, Lari so poor. Please ask your Lord to give ine somethiug to alleviate my poverty.” Moses promised him that he would remember him to his Lord, then went on his way. When Moses addressed bis Lord, be pleaded the case of that man as promised, and in response AHah said: “Oh Moses, tell him that whatever he asks Lvwill grant him under the condition chat whatever he asks he must also ask for his neighbor, and 1 will grant # to both of them. Whatever his heart desires ~ herds, riches, land ~ | will give them both to him and lus neighbor, for i am the Gwner of Endless Bounties, ] am the Lord, your God,”
When Moses descended from Mount Sinai that man was anxiously waiting to hear the Lotd’s response to his plea. “What ness, Moses??? “Good news! The Lord wail give you everything you desire, the only condition being that you must ask it for your neighbor as well.” Then the man became very angry and said: “HE He is not going to give it to me to the exclusion af my neighbor, | ain not asking for it, woe wil P accept id”
Now we claim to be creiized people. but who among us may be heard asking: “Ob my Lord, make het as beautiful as I am! Tam not happy being a beauty queen while such a mice girl remains ugly.” Or who can be heard saying: “Oli my Lord, please give that person a Rolls Royce too! 1 am ashamed to drive mine unless he has onc. as well.” Or what Prime Minister can be heard saying: “Oh God, make everyone Prime Minister!” | don’t think that ] can find
anyone praying or wishing for these favors on others.
Our egos give us this wild selfishness, but the goal of the Suf Path ts to transform such wild characteristics inte beneficial ones, as one may graft bark from a swect fruit bearing tree onte the trunk of a wild tee that pives only sour fruits. Then, when the erate takes hold, the branches of that wild tree give sweet fruit, although the roots are stdi wild. Generally, mankind grows as it was plaaned with no cate being taken to transform its sour fruits, and if given no atteuten, people cie in tie sane coudition. You must understand that all of the holy prophets were “gardeners” grafting divine characteristics onto people’s wild personahtics.
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Most of pou attending this micetng are Christians and Jews. Chast's mission was to impart drme attributes unto people, and the same is true of all of the prophets of the Old Testament, but you have lost sight of that fact. After Jesus Chast, the Prophet Muhammad came with the same mission, but we lost sight of that too, What was the result of all this heedlessness? Throughout history each group wanted to think of itself as “ the exclusion of others”, und has never liked the tdea that God hears the prayers of the other group as well, and considers its merits by His crterta, Not only de our greedy characteristics blind us to the truth of our Lord being the Lord of All, but even within religions so may sects have sptung up, mainly so that people can chim to have the sole possession of God. The result of this has beea that Muslims hate Christians and vice versa; but ovr prophets were MOT sent to teach us to hate each other. And now Christians hate Christians, end Muslims hate Muslims, and in general every one has turned even on his own brother.
possessing God to
Look, our Lord said: “Tell that person to ask for his neighbor what he asks for himselF’, chat is the commandment which is called the golden mie, but now, just as gold currency bas been replaced firse by silver and then by paper, so the golden rule has long been out of circulation in our relations. But you must know that your worth is determined by the magnanimity of your heart. In earlier fimics virtues were recognized as such -~ though perhaps seldom attamed — nowadays they are held in no esteem. People are valued solely according to their beauty or wealth, and one has come to evaluate relationships on the basis of the potential for material gain. This is a shame, and Lam asking our Lord to forgive us.
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By The Difference Between Butchers and Surgeons
A Suft shaykh must have attained puritication of his epo’s characteristics to become a shaykh. So, if he is subject to fits of anger he is not a zeal shaykh, and his teachings will not affect people’s hearts. Sometimes however, shaykhs do get angre, but their anger is a barrage dinected against people’s bad characteristics, not against them personally, and is intention is to help that person tid himself of a bad characteristic that is hindering his spicitual progress. Ewery bad characteristic presents itself to the shaykh as a target — ke the apple on the boy’s head in the famous story of Willam “Tell — and an authorized sharkh will target the bad characteristic without harming the man himself.
Another ditference between the anger of a shaykh and common anget is thar a shaykh will never hold a grudge: he shoots his arrow at the target the moment a bad characteristic appears, and then it is over. Holding grudges is very, very dangerous for all people, for Fit continues tt becomes a dangerous illness that strikes to the very root of ovr faith and destroys it. Every tinie a person displays an objectionable characteristic you may shoot it down, but never assume that you wall encounter that characteristic eve y time you meet that person. Don’t say, “There is chat person who did such and such yesterday,” because today that characteristic has not appeared, and perhaps he has rid himself of it, and you are wronging him in assuming otherwise.
Que grandshaykh was following the holy Prophet in that be never held gtudges, [fa bad characteristic would appear im a murd he would shoot at it ummediately and directly, but with other people he used indirect methods of correcting faults; for is very
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dangerous to criticize a person directly, as he may then hold a grudge against you, and we must not invite such a situation upon ourselves or other people. Only saints and small children up to the age OF cleven may be able to accept criticism without holding a grudge. After children reach the age of twelve they lose this good quality, You may see small children fight, but when it passes it is over, Some few peaple never lose this good quality, but in our days it is almost inevitably lost.
When a saintly person meets someone he assumes the best and expects fo encounter only good will, but most people are suspicious and anticipate evil when they meet a stranger. Our gtandshaykh never anticipated evil from anyone, but when be encountered it, he had divine permission to shoot. Most shaykhs dov’t even use this method of direct criticism on their nyrurids because Of possible harmful ccactions. Shaykh Sharafuddin once told our granedshaykh: “Tf you don’t apply poison to external wounds (Le. medicine for external use only, that would be poison if taken internally) our internally applied medicine might never work.”
Ig the presence of truth the ege raises its head in rebellion, and we must put it down; that is a very delicate task, ke surpery. A butcher may cut meat, but he can’t perform surgery. The butcher has a knife and se does the surgeon, but what a difference between the twe instruments! One of them is used for slaughtermg and the other to prolong life. And, as is well known, no one becomes a qualifed surgeon simply by reading medical books, but only by belag an intern at the side of a master surgeon.
In our time, Muslims are approaching the filnesses they encounter in the West with a butcher’s keufe, and ionoritg Allah’s command to call people to truth with wisdom. The Arabs in particular are to blame for the present summation, and most of the scholars front Arab countries are opposing our efforts. Why? Because they are conung with thew burcher’s knives intending to atab Westerners in the heart, and make sure that all the survivors cun for their lives ~ and 1 am trying to prevent this. This enrages
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them, and though they can’t accuse me of transeressing the religious law, about Sufis they maamtain in general that, “They are calling people to Islam, but have introduced so many innovations.” Their criticisms stem trom covy, that Sufi “surecons” are so often successful in helping people over from their illnesses.
In a famous Hadith Qudsi, or holy Tradition, Allah Almighty states that He Himself becomes the eyes, cars and hands of Flis saints. So how should a Sufi shaykh be oblivious to the needs of the people he encounters? Those Mushim preachers who come to the West without divinely inspired hearing, vision and touch are sutely blind, deaf and insensitive (but unfortunately, not dumb).
Once upon a time there was a deaf person. Someone informed his wife that his neighbor was dl. She chen communicated this to hint through sign language, and he resolved to go and visit the neighbor, but knowing that he could net carry on a normal dialogue, he made the following plan for his visit. | may say ‘How are your” and he will reply, T’m feeling a litle better.’ Then 1 will say “May Allah increase it Ge. your recovery)’, and he will say ‘thank you. ‘Then T will sit aw hile, ther ask him, Which doctor is attending to your” and he will say the name of some respected physician and | will reply, ‘He is a very good doctor, very suitable for your case.” Then I will sit a while more and ask, “What medicine have you been taking?’, and he will say the name of some drug and L will reply, ‘Tras very beneficial, keep taking if, thet I will offer my salamis and 96.”
So, thus having a fixed scenario in his mind, off he went to the house of hts neighbor, knocked on the door and was admitted to the sick man’s room. “How are you, oh my neighbor?” he asked. “Tin miserable”, replied the sick man. “May Allah tnerease it”, said the deaf man. This vexed the sick man, as you may well imagine. “Who is looking after your” asked the deaf man. “Azeail, the angel of death”, replied the annoyed d] man. “An excellent physician, if he vies you, you should have nothing to worry about”, said the deaf man, By now the sick man was furious. “What have you been taking as medicine?” said the deaf man. “Poison”, retorted the
7G Shaykh Nazim Adil Al Haqqani
enraged il man. “That should be a very useful treatment for you. Now I must go, it has been nice visiting you.” The il man answered, “Go to hell.” “Thank you very much, good bye,” replied the deaf
Link: https://www.nvrislam.net/index.php?j=eng&post=6024
erefore, whoever secks a happy life and spiritual muprovement must do as sailors do when a ship is overloaded and in danger of going down in a storm — they throw off the ballast. If
ar Mystic Footsteps
you like you may heed my warnings: be wise and niove step by step towards sunpheity, Don't pursue fashion.
Tf possible one should cat natural foods, as yank food makes people behave like deauks. We are living ta a time in which we ate destroying ourselves with our own hands. We have created an ecouomic system geared toward the principle of “quick prodaction, quick. consumption”, and that is a grave mistake. Since the development of this type of economic system, it has become impossible to fulfill people’s needs naturally, to prow food quickly enough without the aid of artificial fertilizers and insecticides, but by means of these violent methods we are destroying the balance of gature.
The teachings of Islam stress the need to avoid waste. If people were to follow only this teaching the ecological balance would he re established. Everywhere in the world people waste food, anel in America people throw away a week’s worth of food every day. How shall food production keep pace with such waste? By adlizing artificial methods, and these methods m turn breed every kind of illness, economic problems, and psychological problems: all of this is the price of wasting divine favors.
Yesterday | attended a luncheon at which several Tslarnic scholars were present. They left so avich food on their plates! They should not have accepted such lat tge portions if they were not able to eat them, but they did, leaving the surplus to be thrown away. And these are scholars who are well familiar with Islam's teachings about waste, so what should we expect from the common people?
Nowadays, most peoples hearts incline towards a wasteful, artificial lifestyle, and away from a life close to nature; therefore, the world’s problems are on the increase. ] advise any who will pay heed to be friends of nature and not to flee from the countryside to the city. Cites are the plague of the modern world, adversely affecting every aspect of human life ~ and the bigger the catty, the more uninhabitable. Meanw' hile, the countryside stands abandoned, as its inhabitants have been hypnotized by the dazile of city lights.
58 Shaykh Nazim Adil Al Haqqani
Qur physical bodies are part of mature, and a wise person will seek comfort in closeness to nature, not estrangement from it Everything in the countryside is purer, and there are fewer dnesses and a generally healthter life. Therefore, ] advocate the distribution oF the population which is presently chistered in the great cities, throughout the countryside in small communities based on agriculture and decentralized manufacturing. People may work half the day in the fielels and half the day in workshops or factories, and ther ives would be excellent. Lf people would lve in such a manner they would be healthier and happier.
These huge housing projects which resemble ocean liners are a horror. The government could use the same resources to build a village in the countryside, so thar the inhabitants could maimtain their human dignity and experience freedom in their surrouncings. [fit were up to me ] would destroy these housing projects, as they are places in which all lutnatity is taken from humans: jungles, horrible places, centers of criminality. The devil’s plan for mankind is to have us jailed in such monstrous buildings, whereas Allah encourages ug to use our facultics of reasoning, when He asks: “Ts not My earth wide enough that you may migrate thereupon?”
59 Mystic Footsteps
ay Steady Growth is a Sign of Vitality
How tiany years have we been coming to London regularly to be with your For the last thirteen or fourteen years we have been coming here. Tell me, have we called you to anything but the Truth? [If we were calling people to ourselves or to some sensations for their egos, many people might come ~ even more perhaps than now come — but they would not be consistent or perseverant: there would be a hich nirnover. But no, the same people who joined us then, neclve or fourteen years ago are stil with us, and more are coming all the time. They too are staying with us. The ability of a shaykh to help his followers attain stabiliry and a permanent war is a sign Of a teue followers of the holy Prophet.
There is an episode mt the fe of the Prophet that Mustrates this point. Lt is important that we study history, as it sharpens our minds and opens the door to insight and wisdom. Therefore, 1 am advising our friends to study history, even more than religious sciences, to read the history of nations, the history of preophethood and rehgion, the history of the Prophet’ s Ife and early Islamic history, to know also w hat was happening in the world at the tune of the adv ent of Islam.
Now Twill relate to you an episode from early Ishunic history that should be useful for us.
The Prophet Muhammad had sent a letter to Meraclius, the Byzantine Emperor, inviting him to Islam, Once, when visiting Damascus (a pact of his cealm), the emperor instructed his men to bring him any Meccans who might come t0 Damascus by caravan during his stay, in order to question them about Muhammad, as he
60 Shaykh Nazim Adil Al Haqqani
was interested in kn owing more about hina and what people had to say about him.
In due course, the regular summer caravan from Mecca artived, and its leaders weee brought to the presence of his Royal Fighness, the emperor. Herachus was sitting majestically on his throne with a grave expression on his face. To one side were arraved his generals and to the other bishops and patriarchs. Fle addressed the Meccans through a translater, saying: “I have received a letter from a man im Mecca who claims that he is a prophet, Who of you is his closest blood relativer” Abu Sufyan stepped forward, saying, “I am his relative.” At this time Abu Sufyan. was not yet Muslin, and what’s more he was the leader of those who were fiehting agaist the Prophet and had forced him to emigrate from his native city to Medina. In other words, be was the leader of those at war with the holy Prophet.
Then the emperor said: “fam going to ask you some questions about that person, and I expect you to provide me with honest, correct answers, as 1 want to gain a true picture of this man and ” "The emperor addressed the other leaders of the caravan: “And as for you, E would ask you to speak out tf your companion gives an imcorrect answer and to correct him, for God is Perfect and Correct, and ts pleased by those who set things straight.”
what he is all about.
Later tn his lite, whens Abu Sufyan bad become a Muslim, he declared: “I was trembling in front of the emperor, but still I would have told him so many lies to make Muhammad look bad. But he had exhorted my companions to cerrect me, that one of them might spcak up if T Hed, and te be exposed as a liar in front of the emperor would have been too shameful for me. Therefore, | was very careful to answer all of his questions correctly.”
Fleraclius asked Abu Sufyan many questions that ate recorded in history books: “Is his following growing steadily? When people come to him do they stay with him or do many go away disenchanted (even though they may be replaced by others)?” Abu Sufyan answered: “Everyone whe comes to im stays with him and
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holds to hit rove Girrly day by day. Their wumbers are constansly increasing as the old ones stay and new ones join him.”
The emperor exclaimed. “He must be a truce prophet, for these vee the signs of touth When seckers of Truth find it, they never leave it, Verily he has been seat with Pruth, ard his order wall grow to perfection. Without a doubt his nation will come and conquer the very ground on which | stand. | wish that I were worthy to scive at his feet.”
Then Abu Sufyan said: “Those words of the emperor had an effect on my heart, and from that time my mnermost feelings toward the Prophet began to change.” We soust consider this point if the holy Prophet hac not brought a trie message, could his order have grown as it did unl it extended from the Ttar East to the Far West? Can a rotten seed grow? In the time of the Prophet other people arose claiming to be prophets, but can we now sce any remnant of their following? But the tree of Islam is always spreading new branches out over the world — that is a sign Of its vitality.
of Shaykh Nazim Adil Al Haqqani
2 Golden Coin and Golden Rule: Both Have Turned Into Paper
When Allah Almughty created Adam, He caused a rau: of trouble to sprinkle on him for forty years, then Me caused a rain of ecstasy to shower upon. him for one year. Therefore, man may find such a proportion of suffering to pleasure throughout his fe. How does our Lord cause trouble to manifest rouge the course of our lives? ‘Through our contact with other people. We are destined to constantly have to deal weth others, most of whom are mainly interested in fulfilling their own desires without much regard for anyone else’s well bemnp.
Tt is our fate to be given a nature that requires social contact with our fellow humans. And even if cach persom were to bave a mountain to himself, in order to remain far removed from the bother and trouble caused by social life, we would find people abandoning their retreats and seching each other’s company in the valleys.
Why is te that people, though deawn to cach other, often would like to flee froma lurnan associatiou? Pach person has his own will and his idea of how things should be done, and itis most difficult to obtain another’s compliance with those wishes, to influence him into doing what you want done. [tf you can come to exercise authority over a small circle of people, the nuciear family for example, 5 your influence decreases immediately when we pass to the next citcle of relations, the extended family. And so on down the ine: the farther people are removed from your direct influence, the more difficult to assert one’s authority or advocate one’s position —
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and owe weak link in the chain will cause the complete rupture of that chain of influence. Therefore, your ab#ity to make others conform to your wishes is limited, and this is a cause of g great frustration for people,
When Adam and Eve were alone they were able to agree that Adam would have ultimate authority in matters, and when they had children they deferred to his authority, but when the world started to be populated by his grandchildren anc great grandchildren, his authority waned and they became rebellious. By the ume he died he had realized how powerless he was.
Everything that happens to mankind tn general, every current that passes through us affects our personalities. Some of these currents build in us inner force and rectinide, others cause these qualities to vanish. It is our challenge to face them all and to strengthen our personalities i any case; you miust be fim enough to face every event, the good and the bad aléke. You may seck to escape from disliked circunastances, but usually, in the process of flecing you will come up agamst something even more formidable. We have a saying: “He led fram the tain to the hail.” You may affiem the truth of this saying from your own experience. But what can we dor We can only learn forbearance: to increase in spiritual fortitude through being patient with the harm inflicted by others. If we react to every evil we will be burned up with rage, and will have gained nothing. What we need to be able to attack evil is, frst of all, a “cool head” not clouded by inypulsive rage. This is what all prophets through all epochs have taught.
The great source of suffering in the oventieth century is impatience. Especially in the West patience has become a vittually extinct characteristic, and, contrary to being encouraged by society, even in theory, it is scarned and seen as being the attribute of stupid and exploited people. People in the “free world” are taught
that they must demand, and have the right to demand, everything ammediarely, and ideally, for it to appear in front of them before they ever thought of desiring it — that is efficiency. To call such a society “twentieth century civilization” is a misnomer, for civilized
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people are patient, and real civilization ties to mstill patience. by estecining it ag a virtue,
Because this quality is lacking, the higher people’s standard of living climbs, the more they come to expect everything to be instantly available to them at the touch of a button or fick of a switch, and whea anything God forbid should go wrong, they are infuriated by the delay of what they expect to be mstantly provided. leis terrible to even think about the condition people would be in if their systems were to fail on a larger scale: they haven't the slightest idea of how to provide themselves with what they need tor theit ives. If their machines cease to function they will die — that is all.
An even upler aspect of this trend is that people are not satished just tO have everything available at their fingertips, but want to have everything for themselves to the exclusion of others, to have a monopoly of all wealth and pleasure. With such characteristics how shall anyone be happy } Modern education and the valucs passed through the media give the signal: “Gro out and get what you want; if you can grab it, if is yours, that is only fair.” What we need to understand is that each has his portion, that what is your is yours and what is his is his. How many of your possessions can you carry on your back? Even a money helt is bothersome: so how shall you carry someone else’s portion? If you attempt to eat even one other person’s portion you will be sick, and if you wear another’s clothing in addition to your own you will be too hot. To begrudge people their portions ts excessively stupid, the way to destroy your health and your soul.
We are in need of a different kind of education, an education that teaches us that everything in this life has been apportioned to its owner through divine wisdom, but instead we are encouraging such bad attributes that every good others enjoy is a thorn in our sides.
Onee, in the ame of Moses, peace. be upon him, as he was headed toward Mount Sinai to engage in private discourse with the Lord Almighty, a poor man approached Moses and said: “Oh
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Moses, Lari so poor. Please ask your Lord to give ine somethiug to alleviate my poverty.” Moses promised him that he would remember him to his Lord, then went on his way. When Moses addressed bis Lord, be pleaded the case of that man as promised, and in response AHah said: “Oh Moses, tell him that whatever he asks Lvwill grant him under the condition chat whatever he asks he must also ask for his neighbor, and 1 will grant # to both of them. Whatever his heart desires ~ herds, riches, land ~ | will give them both to him and lus neighbor, for i am the Gwner of Endless Bounties, ] am the Lord, your God,”
When Moses descended from Mount Sinai that man was anxiously waiting to hear the Lotd’s response to his plea. “What ness, Moses??? “Good news! The Lord wail give you everything you desire, the only condition being that you must ask it for your neighbor as well.” Then the man became very angry and said: “HE He is not going to give it to me to the exclusion af my neighbor, | ain not asking for it, woe wil P accept id”
Now we claim to be creiized people. but who among us may be heard asking: “Ob my Lord, make het as beautiful as I am! Tam not happy being a beauty queen while such a mice girl remains ugly.” Or who can be heard saying: “Oli my Lord, please give that person a Rolls Royce too! 1 am ashamed to drive mine unless he has onc. as well.” Or what Prime Minister can be heard saying: “Oh God, make everyone Prime Minister!” | don’t think that ] can find
anyone praying or wishing for these favors on others.
Our egos give us this wild selfishness, but the goal of the Suf Path ts to transform such wild characteristics inte beneficial ones, as one may graft bark from a swect fruit bearing tree onte the trunk of a wild tee that pives only sour fruits. Then, when the erate takes hold, the branches of that wild tree give sweet fruit, although the roots are stdi wild. Generally, mankind grows as it was plaaned with no cate being taken to transform its sour fruits, and if given no atteuten, people cie in tie sane coudition. You must understand that all of the holy prophets were “gardeners” grafting divine characteristics onto people’s wild personahtics.
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Most of pou attending this micetng are Christians and Jews. Chast's mission was to impart drme attributes unto people, and the same is true of all of the prophets of the Old Testament, but you have lost sight of that fact. After Jesus Chast, the Prophet Muhammad came with the same mission, but we lost sight of that too, What was the result of all this heedlessness? Throughout history each group wanted to think of itself as “ the exclusion of others”, und has never liked the tdea that God hears the prayers of the other group as well, and considers its merits by His crterta, Not only de our greedy characteristics blind us to the truth of our Lord being the Lord of All, but even within religions so may sects have sptung up, mainly so that people can chim to have the sole possession of God. The result of this has beea that Muslims hate Christians and vice versa; but ovr prophets were MOT sent to teach us to hate each other. And now Christians hate Christians, end Muslims hate Muslims, and in general every one has turned even on his own brother.
possessing God to
Look, our Lord said: “Tell that person to ask for his neighbor what he asks for himselF’, chat is the commandment which is called the golden mie, but now, just as gold currency bas been replaced firse by silver and then by paper, so the golden rule has long been out of circulation in our relations. But you must know that your worth is determined by the magnanimity of your heart. In earlier fimics virtues were recognized as such -~ though perhaps seldom attamed — nowadays they are held in no esteem. People are valued solely according to their beauty or wealth, and one has come to evaluate relationships on the basis of the potential for material gain. This is a shame, and Lam asking our Lord to forgive us.
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By The Difference Between Butchers and Surgeons
A Suft shaykh must have attained puritication of his epo’s characteristics to become a shaykh. So, if he is subject to fits of anger he is not a zeal shaykh, and his teachings will not affect people’s hearts. Sometimes however, shaykhs do get angre, but their anger is a barrage dinected against people’s bad characteristics, not against them personally, and is intention is to help that person tid himself of a bad characteristic that is hindering his spicitual progress. Ewery bad characteristic presents itself to the shaykh as a target — ke the apple on the boy’s head in the famous story of Willam “Tell — and an authorized sharkh will target the bad characteristic without harming the man himself.
Another ditference between the anger of a shaykh and common anget is thar a shaykh will never hold a grudge: he shoots his arrow at the target the moment a bad characteristic appears, and then it is over. Holding grudges is very, very dangerous for all people, for Fit continues tt becomes a dangerous illness that strikes to the very root of ovr faith and destroys it. Every tinie a person displays an objectionable characteristic you may shoot it down, but never assume that you wall encounter that characteristic eve y time you meet that person. Don’t say, “There is chat person who did such and such yesterday,” because today that characteristic has not appeared, and perhaps he has rid himself of it, and you are wronging him in assuming otherwise.
Que grandshaykh was following the holy Prophet in that be never held gtudges, [fa bad characteristic would appear im a murd he would shoot at it ummediately and directly, but with other people he used indirect methods of correcting faults; for is very
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dangerous to criticize a person directly, as he may then hold a grudge against you, and we must not invite such a situation upon ourselves or other people. Only saints and small children up to the age OF cleven may be able to accept criticism without holding a grudge. After children reach the age of twelve they lose this good quality, You may see small children fight, but when it passes it is over, Some few peaple never lose this good quality, but in our days it is almost inevitably lost.
When a saintly person meets someone he assumes the best and expects fo encounter only good will, but most people are suspicious and anticipate evil when they meet a stranger. Our gtandshaykh never anticipated evil from anyone, but when be encountered it, he had divine permission to shoot. Most shaykhs dov’t even use this method of direct criticism on their nyrurids because Of possible harmful ccactions. Shaykh Sharafuddin once told our granedshaykh: “Tf you don’t apply poison to external wounds (Le. medicine for external use only, that would be poison if taken internally) our internally applied medicine might never work.”
Ig the presence of truth the ege raises its head in rebellion, and we must put it down; that is a very delicate task, ke surpery. A butcher may cut meat, but he can’t perform surgery. The butcher has a knife and se does the surgeon, but what a difference between the twe instruments! One of them is used for slaughtermg and the other to prolong life. And, as is well known, no one becomes a qualifed surgeon simply by reading medical books, but only by belag an intern at the side of a master surgeon.
In our time, Muslims are approaching the filnesses they encounter in the West with a butcher’s keufe, and ionoritg Allah’s command to call people to truth with wisdom. The Arabs in particular are to blame for the present summation, and most of the scholars front Arab countries are opposing our efforts. Why? Because they are conung with thew burcher’s knives intending to atab Westerners in the heart, and make sure that all the survivors cun for their lives ~ and 1 am trying to prevent this. This enrages
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them, and though they can’t accuse me of transeressing the religious law, about Sufis they maamtain in general that, “They are calling people to Islam, but have introduced so many innovations.” Their criticisms stem trom covy, that Sufi “surecons” are so often successful in helping people over from their illnesses.
In a famous Hadith Qudsi, or holy Tradition, Allah Almighty states that He Himself becomes the eyes, cars and hands of Flis saints. So how should a Sufi shaykh be oblivious to the needs of the people he encounters? Those Mushim preachers who come to the West without divinely inspired hearing, vision and touch are sutely blind, deaf and insensitive (but unfortunately, not dumb).
Once upon a time there was a deaf person. Someone informed his wife that his neighbor was dl. She chen communicated this to hint through sign language, and he resolved to go and visit the neighbor, but knowing that he could net carry on a normal dialogue, he made the following plan for his visit. | may say ‘How are your” and he will reply, T’m feeling a litle better.’ Then 1 will say “May Allah increase it Ge. your recovery)’, and he will say ‘thank you. ‘Then T will sit aw hile, ther ask him, Which doctor is attending to your” and he will say the name of some respected physician and | will reply, ‘He is a very good doctor, very suitable for your case.” Then I will sit a while more and ask, “What medicine have you been taking?’, and he will say the name of some drug and L will reply, ‘Tras very beneficial, keep taking if, thet I will offer my salamis and 96.”
So, thus having a fixed scenario in his mind, off he went to the house of hts neighbor, knocked on the door and was admitted to the sick man’s room. “How are you, oh my neighbor?” he asked. “Tin miserable”, replied the sick man. “May Allah tnerease it”, said the deaf man. This vexed the sick man, as you may well imagine. “Who is looking after your” asked the deaf man. “Azeail, the angel of death”, replied the annoyed d] man. “An excellent physician, if he vies you, you should have nothing to worry about”, said the deaf man, By now the sick man was furious. “What have you been taking as medicine?” said the deaf man. “Poison”, retorted the
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enraged il man. “That should be a very useful treatment for you. Now I must go, it has been nice visiting you.” The il man answered, “Go to hell.” “Thank you very much, good bye,” replied the deaf
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